Once

I grew up there, once,

in my memory that now fades,

by the day. 

Was it really that beautiful?

I don’t recall, now,

as a child I felt empty,

yet full. 

Is it, as it always was?

Remind me, the days past,

friends, memories that endure,

that last. 

A sense of peace? I,

ponder and, wonder,

not sure, but perhaps. 

No matter, it’s simplicity,

was, to me my life,

all that I could be. 

Copyright © 2020 by Mike Sutcliffe

Why am I ?

Why am I, and

will I always be?

Springtime melting snow

or, an eternal

ocean sea?

Where to wander, and

dare I dream?

Will my path

meander, like

a gentle mountain stream?

How to live, and

what to be?

The heaven bound

angel or, the devil’s

carnal scream?

What was my life, and

did I really see?

Was it simple in its

beauty, in its

love for me?

When is the end, and

what will it be?

A sentence for the

executioner, to

finally set me free?

Who will remember, and

why will that be?

Words fading on

a page until, I

never was me?

Copyright © 2014 by Mike Sutcliffe

Our Summer

Do you remember the start of forever,

our summer of love, we lived it together?

The hopes and the dreams, so much to do,

from the moment we met, I gave me to you.

Do you remember the sand at our feet,

the theatre in Minnack, our first New Years Eve?

The fireworks went up in the Lands End sky,

I knew in that moment, as I looked in your eyes.

Do you remember, it was a beautiful night,

I said that I love you, I held your hand tight?

With diamonds and sapphires, forged from the moon,

it was made with my heart, with my love for you.

Always remember, for the rest of our lives,

that you are my summer, the love of my life.

Copyright © 2014 by Mike Sutcliffe

I wrote this poem for a friend of mine to read to his wife on their upcoming wedding day. I know that he loves the intimacy of the memories, and I can only hope that she does as well. Whilst the memories may not be ours, I hope that you can enjoy the sentiment of the words and appreciate the meaning for them. Enjoy!

Starlight Sanctuary

The dew damp dawn calls an ending to the night,

the first bird song, a tolling bell, a call to flight.

Some now wake, some now sleep, all follow nature's lore,

the hidden starlight sanctuary, shelters from the waking dawn.

The stoic sun, as ancient oak, whose eyes belie its stare,

gazes down upon the battlefield, of war in Poseidon's lair.

Mermaids flight, dolphins fight, ashore the unicorns run,

all seek the starlight sanctuary, veiled from the raging sun.

The axe now rests, its work is done, the fire burning bright,

tall tales are told, no truths unfold, beneath the fading light.

Through glinting eyes, shrouded by the night, a secret to remain,

for the hidden starlight sanctuary, all will look in vain.

Embers fade, ash fresh made, the blood red moon above,

searching for the starlight sanctuary, its forever secret love.

Copyright © 2013 by Mike Sutcliffe

I wrote this poem in dedication to the wonderful children's book, The Starlight Sailor, illustrated by the talented artist, Jackie Morris. It happened that I took my family to Pembrokeshire and stayed in a Mongolian yurt at Trellyn Woodland Camping. The canvass of the yurt had been beautifully decorated by Jackie with characters from the book ~ mermaids, dolphins and unicorns. After the most inspiring of weeks, it seemed appropriate to try and put into words the spirit of her book, combined with my feelings about the experiences I had. I hope you enjoy.

The Lonely Tree

Have you sat under The Lonely Tree,

taken a moment, had a day dream?

Did you ever look, pause for a while,

musing his past, did it make you smile?

A whole life spent weathering storms,

crooked and bent, slightly deformed.

Scarred and worn, bark partly eaten,

standing up proud, still never beaten.

What of the others, where have they gone,

once there were many, now just one?

Long it had been since friend or foe seen,

so long it had been, for The Lonely Tree.

If you are passing just stop a short while,

pay your respects, it may make him smile.

As time goes by, for you and for me,

we all will become The Lonely Tree.

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

Vienna

those few moments

do you recall

we lived in love

I consumed you all

you held my hand

lost in your eyes

the moment took us

just truth ~ not lies

our love as deep

as it can be

you breathed me in

and made me see

we lived a dream

a life together

blinking our eyes

in our Vienna

how time mocked

so wrong for us

I tried so hard

yet ended lost

we should have been

just us forever

in our beautiful city

Wien ~ Vienna

now you are lost

my heart still trembles

you live within me

I am forever humbled

you were mine

and now it is never

the love we shared

is gone forever

yet in my heart

we will always be

in our Vienna

just you and me

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

Mad Love

Oh no not again

there’s his child within

doing what he shouldn’t

a cardinal sin

raising my anger

from reality he hides

I can feel myself raging

deep down inside

“Do as you’re told”

I scream in my head

desperately wanting the frustration

to end

it’s burning me up

with a knot in my gut

whatever I say

he just won’t give it up

Try as I do

when he says

“me?”

“YES YOU!”

he melts me inside

with his puppy dog eyes

my shoulders sag down

with a huff

and a sigh

“God you’re annoying”

I say through my grin

in my anger I smile

I can’t help but love him!

Copyright © 2013 by Mike Sutcliffe

To Catch a Snowflake

Bathed by the moonlight and the sparkling distant stars,
where ancient lovers live, their aura seeping from afar.

As the first fall flows, diamond crystals coat the ground,
in their symphony of silence, a crashing nothingness of sound.

Fragile, frozen touches brush against reluctant minds,

the warmth in their beauty sending shivers down the spine.

Eager hands reach out, grasping harshly, closing tight,

the frenzied fury of their need, ending each one’s life.

For the briefest of moments their grace is sublime,

yet in an instant they are gone, like the passage of time.

To catch a falling snowflake ~ stop and wonder how,

with no past and no future, they exist in the now.

If the time should come, if your soul begins to calm,

you may look at your own snowflake ~  resting gently on your palm.

Copyright © 2012 by Mike Sutcliffe

The Old Bus Stop

Life stands still at the old bus stop

where the gangs roam free, no police

the cops

too scared to go

there with them, the scavengers, thieves

and the whores with men

Don’t dare to go, leave them be, they can fend

for themselves

if they die

who will see, not them, or you

not me, will see

they are nothing

Tattooed bodies roam the streets

with guns, and drugs

giving out sweets

to seduce the young, give them a gun

they are theirs

forever

they are part of the gang, to die, perhaps

to die with a bang, however they die

who will give a damn

they were just another

one of a gang

See the graffiti adorning the walls, of the old bus stop

in the middle of wars

of rivals

and thugs, with their knives

they mug

the innocent few

who never knew, not to go after dark

or before the lark

to the old bus stop ~ just next to the park

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

A Complicated Man

There are too many halves to make just one whole,

they fight for supremacy, they tear at my soul,

for the right to be free, to escape from within,

to be the dominant one, the one that must win,

There is carefree and happy, so light in its mood,

mixed with laughter and joy bringing all that is good.

Then there is thoughtful ~ it is deep and sad,

raising anger and fury, it is boiling and mad.

Still there is more dwelling deep down inside,

there is love and romance which so often hides.

Not ruthless and cold with the harshest of stares,

that is daring and bold, it never really cares.

Which one today, that is out of my hands,

it was once said to me that I am a complicated man.

Poetryman

Copyright © 2012 by Mike Sutcliffe

Echoes of Souls

Listen to the wind

whispers in the leaves

all around are signs

in the Earth ~ in the trees

Playing in the clouds

shadows passing by

forgotten long ago

glimpses with an eye

Searching for the lost

those never to be found

departed in their grief

their song a haunting sound

Eternities of drifting

upon our corporeal plain

their hunger to move on

will always be in vain

Now your mind is open

tuned in to their cries

you can hear them calling

so lonely in the night

Please never forget

this secret which you hold
you are now a guardian

for the echoes of souls

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

The Passing of Ages

Weariness creeps, like vines round an ancient oak

with an ever tightening grip

not suffocating, yet gently reminding ~ it is time

The passing of ages, as the sun begins its last journey

descending, into the shadows

to sleep with legends past

When darkness falls, peace ebbs through the soul

old lights fade, becoming memories

entombed, in their own eternal mausoleum

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

One

it ticks and tocks as I stare at the clock

so long now gone, all alone in my home

with nothing but her flowing around in my mind

watching the hours, wiling away time

my mind starts to wander, a smile on my face

as I think of her beauty, her love and her grace

of our time spent together, planning forever

all the joy and the smiles and so much laughter

of our beautiful children now merged into one

bringing happiness and fun to our family home

they are brothers and sisters, there for each other

no longer two families, they are one forever

in the blink of an eye she’ll be back in my arms

melting into my safety ~ my mind once again calm

Poetryman

Copyright © 2012 by Mike Sutcliffe

My Old Grandfather Clock

Tick tock, tick tock, my old grandfather clock

whose face ever changes, yet still stays the same

his hands are relentless, ornate and yet plain

guiding the way through the night ~ to the day

Tick tock, tick tock, my old grandfather clock

whose chimes bring the signs and the changing of time

keeping me true with his relentless rhyme

his stoic dignity bathed in serenity, for all of eternity

Tick tock, tick tock, my old grandfather clock

whose strong brass chains still bear the weights

each swing of the pendulum, never being late

just the movement of time showing on his face

Tick tock, tick tock, my old grandfather clock

whose constancy keeps me, wrapped in his safety

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

Paranoia

it cannot be described ~ the year that has gone

so full of love, no longer alone

clinging on hard to a future together

desperately praying it would be forever

from the very first flutter paranoia struck deep

for a broken body may not be for keeps

all of my dreams in an instant felt shattered

taking away all that had mattered

fright and fear ripped through my heart

terror began to pull me, pull me apart

taking all I had cherished and loved in my life

plunging me deep, back into life’s strife

I shouldn’t have worried ~ I am safe in her hands

she will hold me forever, however the dice lands

Poetryman

Copyright © 2012 by Mike Sutcliffe

True Loves Kiss

New found depths that grip me there,

her subtle scent drifts through the air,

consuming me with passionate rage,

we are bound forever ~ I am her slave.

Melting together, becoming one,

our bodies symmetry a single tone.

Please linger still, I must savour all,

to capture her within my soul.

Drifting now, all time has stopped,

our inhibitions have all been lost,

a swirling maelstrom of carnal pleasure,

I sip from the cup of her deepest treasure.

The possibilities become limitless,

when you’ve tasted the lips ~ of true loves kiss.

Poetryman

Copyright © 2012 by Mike Sutcliffe

Three Days

three days, three days, it’s only three days

I keep telling myself, over and over

in so many ways, I keep telling myself

~ it’s only three days

I try to distract my wandering mind

to make myself see, I must still live life

not pause for three days and shut myself away

I must go on, not hide to feel safe

harder and harder, that’s how it feels

I watch time tick by, clicking my heels

paranoia grows deeper, gnawing at me

my mind goes mad, it’s her that I need

tell me it’s over and now it’s no days

tell me it’s over, that she comes home today

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

The Poets Tree

Sometimes I sit beneath The Poets Tree,

where legends linger, not yet me.

Their passage earned with words so pure,

their names etched in, their place assured.

Byron, Tennyson, Burns and Poe,

I feel their words course through my soul.

They bring me comfort when I am alone,

lost in my mind ~ where poems grow.

Breathing deep their scent floods in,

my senses ache from deep within,

of powerful imagery, rhythm and rhyme,

lost in their words from another time.

If I dare to look up perhaps I will see,

a new green shoot, that may one day be me.

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe

Of Musings, Love and Life ~ Now on Amazon!

Welcome all to the next instalment of the release of my new book ~ Of Musings, Love and Life! In my previous post it had just been released via a local book shop, who very kindly agreed to stock it on my behalf, and I'm pleased to say that I've had to replenish their stock twice already in the past couple of weeks, which is really encouraging!

I'm sure that I'm not the first, and certainly won't be the last, aspiring author to have released a book and wonder just exactly how it will be received. You consume yourself for months and months, hour after hour to make sure that the poems you've written are as meaningful as they can be, and whilst you are completely wrapped in it and are convinced, from your own perspective, that it is a really great piece of work, ultimately that is you appraising your own work, so quite naturally you're going to be slightly biased!

So in reality all that you can do is to rely on the people that visit your blog, read your poems, and ultimately feel that the snippets of work they have seen give enough justification to buy your book. And that is what I'm now asking you all to do. It would be great to see feedback on the poems on here, on Twitter and also by the book sales that I get.

Should you feel that you want to buy the paperback, it's available now on Amazon via the following link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0957023804/ref=sc_pgp__m_A1HEBM1XAZG5YE_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1HEBM1XAZG5YE&n=&s=&v=glance

Amazon's own listing shows as not yet released, for some strange reason, and out of stock. As the author I have listed it myself, which is the link above, and is in stock and released now! If you have any issues trying to place the order, or have made an order and would like the copy signing, then drop me an email at poetryman@hotmail.co.uk and I will make sure that your order is dealt with.

In the near future I will get around to converting it into and ebook, although my limited technical skills may need a little updating first!

May I just say thanks very much to all who drop by and read the poems on my blog, and of course to all who buy the book.

The Beach

fading over the eternal horizon

to dance in far off playgrounds

auburn flames streak outward

fighting the days near end

rolling from the white horses manes

the touch of Poseidon’s breath

paints lips with drifting, salty air

lost in the ebb of moon pulled tides

no words break the crashing silence

our hands mingle

Poetryman

Copyright © 2011 by Mike Sutcliffe